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Cashless Toll road in Denver

On our rental car reservation I noticed a warning about Cashless Toll roads in Denver, and if we take the rental car on the toll road, we'll be billed for $25 for each time on the road and the toll, OR we could rent their Pass for $9.99 a day. No Way!!

So I'm assuming the only way around it is to literally to go around the toll road? We'll be leaving from the Denver Airport and wanted to take 470 to 25 North, but looks like for an extra 13 miles or so we could take Pena Blvd south a bit out of the airport to 70 West and catch 25 North.

Am I missing any key information? Is 470 the only Cashless Toll Road in Denver?

If you want to avoid "the mousetrap" (the intersection of I-70 and I-25)which can be somewhat congested depending on the time of day, take I-270 from I-70. It intersects with I-25 a few miles north of the mousetrap.

What a rip-off! Normally that section of toll road between the airport and I-25 is about $5 if memory serves me (which is still a rip off!).

If you are heading to I-25 north then you can avoid the toll by taking Tower Road north to 120th Ave, then north on Buckley Road, turn left through Brighton, and out 160th Ave to I-25. You can also just stay on 120th to I-25 which is more straightforward, but that takes longer.

The cashless toll road actually makes sense. It used to be that you'd have to stop at numerous toll booths which took longer than the back roads just described, defeating the purpose of having a fast highway!

Also, where Pena Blvd and E-470 join is a well known speed trap, so if you go that way be careful not to add insult to injury.

If you are headed to Boulder, take the 270 (from 70) directly to 36.
Otherwise, any of those other routes will do for getting to I25.
I like Tower (one of the first roads out of the airport) to 120 to 25 North; no backtracking, and it can be pretty smooth.

Spirobulldog, "Nothing like the Government. A cashless toll road. LOL" A cashless toll road is smart, not a joke. We have one now in Seattle - the 520 bridge. The bridge is one of the two major commuter bridges between the eastern suburbs and Seattle, over a long lake. It is unsafe and has to be closed down in winds over 40 mph, yet the taxpayers of this great State are unwilling to pay for it to be replaced. So it is now being tolled so the direct users will be paying for it. Setting up tolling booths was out of the question for a number of reasons, including traffic flow (It takes major traffic) and space (in the city on both ends). So we now have a cashless system. It is a very sophisticated system involving recognizing passes and license plates. We can buy a pass for $5 and it automatically deducts from our acct. Or we can pay as we go and that costs more due to processing.

So, If I am traveling, rent a car, or just bought a new car--then what? In Oklahoma, we have Pike Passes)the very first state to initiate that option many years ago). We still have booths(some manned, some unmanned). You can still pay in cast.

Somewhat like, I find it odd that you cannot purchase drinks or food on most airlines with cash now.

Thanks for all the input! (and commiseration! haha) We wouldn't mind paying the toll so much, IF we could actually pay it, but this "license plate" thing is new to us and nothing we can do in our rental car. We'll be renting for 17 days, so no way we can rent their Pass for $10/day. (nor do we want to get a $25 bill)

Our flight arrives at 10:20 am, and we have a looong drive up to Cody, WY, so we really need to hurry to get out of Denver and on our way.

On our return trip we'll be coming from Breckenridge into Denver, so I don't *think* we'll need e470 to get to the airport.

Orcas, thanks for the link. Interesting... I wonder what "genius" made that video and thinks you can add your rental car license plate number to your account ahead of time?! There's no way to know what it's going to be!

The more we think about this, we wonder if this is what happened to us in Orlando a year and a half ago. We left the airport in our rental and as we approached the tolls to pay, there was no one in the booth! Freaked us out to keep going and I thought my husband accidentally got in a Pass lane instead of a cash lane. It practically ruined his mood for that day since he was so worried we'd be ticketed for not paying the toll. We never did get anything about it, so maybe the rental car had a pass.

You might want to check various car rental agencies as well. Recently, I was in the Denver area for the week on business and used Budget. On the way to the airport, I did elect to use E470 and was hit with a charge of approximately $26. This broke down into the toll itself plus a daily rate of approximately $4/day.

Had I used the toll road every day, the additional charges would only have been for the tolls, not a $25 charge each time.

I live in the Orlando area. The airport is right on the Beachline, one of our major tollroads. FWIW, of about 7 major arteries that come immediately to mind in the area, only one is not a tollroad. And there is talk of making it toll.

This has been a problem for visitors, and so the rental cars are all equipped and registered so that there is no need to stop and pay a toll. As I understand, at least some companies put a cap on that daily rate, so at some point you are only paying tolls.

If you'll be in the area, it's a real convenience. If you are just passing through on the way to/from vacation elsewhere, it is a real pain. But in Denver, you should be able to easily avoid getting on that tollroad.

4sharie - You are correct. Returning from Breckenridge you will not use a toll road. You will take Rt. 9 to Frisco and pick up I-70. That takes you all the way to Pena Blvd which is the road leading to the airport.

Just a quick note to Spiro re "Nothing like the Government. A cashless toll road. LOL" C470 is actually a private toll road, no government involved. There's been a lot of publicity lately of outrageous fines and interest charged to people who never received a bill - hundreds, even thousands of dollars for a couple of trips.

I wish the highway authority would install self-service credit card machines where the previously manned toll booths are located. It works in Europe and on various turnpikes I've driven on in the US. I'd rather pay when I use the road rather than getting a bill in the mail a month or two after the fact.

wtm003, I don't know about the specific situation you are referring to, but in Seattle, I am grateful they didn't tinker with toll booths. The traffic is simply too heavy. I once spent 45 minutes on the ramp alone, between I-405 and the 520 bridge, and that is not uncommon. I was fit to be tied. If you added tolling to that, well, it would be a sorry scene.

If your credit card is on file, you don't get billed in the mail. It simply deducts from your credit card, and you have pre-authorized refills. So, it just keeps on paying without you having to do anything - costs $5 to set it up and after that, you are "good to go," which is what they call the pass. Not bad.

I have a friend to Seattle from Oregon and thought he was home free with his out-of-state plates. It took them a little longer to catch up with him than it did for them to catch up with my wayward son, but he eventually got the bill- then got the "good to go" pass. The $5 charge is probably the best investment in America these days.

Sorry I left out E470 which is in the Denver area in my post. E470 already has pullouts where the previously manned booths are still standing so there would be no disruption to traffic if credit card machines were installed. Also, since E470 is a major hwy to and from the airport it really is an inconvenience to out of state visitors, using rental cars, who get hit with a large bill if they haven't planned ahead or just don't know.

There is an electronic billing system like you have described but it is a major pet peeve of mine. It requires a $35 deposit in prepaid tolls. When the balance drops below that amount (whenever you drive on the toll road) the CC on file is charged to return the balance to $35. It isn't a huge sum but why can't they just charge the CC per toll and not keep $35 of my money. If the CC is closed for some reason just send a bill at a 20% premium like they to do for everyone else.

The situation you described in Seattle probably makes sense. I avoid the tollway here unless I'm going to the airport during rush hour - it just isn't worth the price to use it on a regular basis. It doesn't have the congestion you described. It borders the suburbs and plains and has a 75 mph speed limit.

I'm going to Seattle next month so thanks for the heads-up on the tollway. I need to grab a map and plan our route.

I'm enjoying reading all this insider info on these tolls. Definitely makes a difference for visitors vs locals.

sludick, it was kind of weird our last time in Orlando to see the Beeline had become the Beachline! (in addition to freaking out there was no one in the toll booth!)

breckgal, so do you live in Breckenridge? I'll have to search your name for other advice you've given. We'll be staying there a week. BUT I forgot... we won't be going straight from Breckenridge to Denver. When we check out we're going to take a day trip to Rocky Mtn NP, so our approach to our Denver airport hotel will be from the Northwest.

We live north of town and have had no need to use the East-West or the Beachline in some years and use the Greenway seldom. So we've never bothered with a transponder. But last fall we went to the Everglades and Keys partially on the FL Tnpk., which is now cashless, and decided to use the license plate billing option. But the admin. fee is only $2.50 (or maybe $5), not $25. The whole bill was only about $11. We were driving our own car, not a rental, though. Convenience for everyday users is a real pain for infrequent users or tourists.

In Dublin you have to use a cashless toll road to get to the airport (at least as far as we could tell). Then when you get to the airport, you have to go to a newsstand and fill out an envelope with the license #, put the money in the envelope and leave it there. A pain but better than $25, which seems a little over the top.

Glad I ran across this since we just made flight and car reservations for a CO trip in Sept. I'll study the map carefully.

I miss the bee, too. I remember when it changed a number of years ago and I overheard a man talking about how he didn't know it and had recently told a tourist to get to the Space Center by going north on I-4 to the Bee Line. "I wonder where she is now?" he said.

I haven't been to Denver in awhile, but am planning to go a few times in the next year. I used to love E470. My company's office is in Centennial and we have friends and family south of Denver. E470 made it very convinient to and from the airport, but with this cashless system, it now sounds like a royal PITA. Who wants to register for an account for the road and then have to register the car before leaving the parking lot? And the per/day fees charged by the rental companies are a total rip. I'll be driving through Denver from now on.

I-225 is being extensively upgrade with some small construction zones (they are nearly done) so if it is not rush hour you will be fine using I-225. The tollless fares are cheaper than the regular fares but the tag cannot be transferred on one vehicle to another so you are still if you are a visit in the same way we are stuck if we visit Chicago, Orlando, Florida, etc. At least we only have one small toll road.

november_moon - Yes, you would have to set up an EXpressToll account and add the rental car license plate to the account prior to driving the road. This would allow you to avoid the additional fees from rental agencies. I understand your point of view that you will just go through Denver. I guess it is just a balance of determining the value of your time to get somewhere once you arrive at the airport. E-470 is a choice really. Anway, glad to you at least understand how it all works. Heidi